Virginia man accused of shooting DC area buildings kicked out of the Marine Corps Reserve

An Alexandria, Va., Marine reservist charged by federal authorities with shooting at five military buildings near Washington D.C. has been kicked out of the military, according to a statement released this afternoon by Marine Forces Reserve headquarters in New Orleans.

The Associated Press

Yonathan Melaku, 22, a native of Ethiopia who was arrested for trespassing June 17 in Arlington National Cemetery with bomb-making materials in his backpack, did not contest his administrative separation, according to a statement released this afternoon.

His arrest gained national news media coverage.

Melaku, who was a lance corporal who enlisted in 2007 and never deployed overseas, was charged by federal prosecutors in Virginia on June 23, in connection with five shootings at military installations in October and November, including the Pentagon, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Marine and Coast Guard recruiting stations. He allegedly caused a reported $100,000 in damage.

Authorities found a video he made of himself shooting at the museum, repeating to himself in Arabic, "Allahu Akbar," meaning "God is Great," according to The Associated Press. He carried a notebook with references to Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Federal authorities said his backpack contained ammonium nitrate, a bomb-making material, and spent 9 mm bullet casings that were ballistically matched to bullet fragments recovered from the shooting scenes last year.

Brig. Gen. James Lariviere, commander of the 4th Marine Division, whose headquarters is in New Orleans, approved the administrative separation, according to Marine Forces Reserve.

According to news reports, he was assigned to the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, based in Baltimore.

Marine Forces Reserve said leaders in the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion began the process of removing him from the Marine Corps after confirming he had been charged with grand larceny, considered a "serious offense" that could merit removal from the Marine Corps.

Melaku was booked in Leesburg, Va., in May, with four counts of grand larceny and was free from jail after posting a $5,000 bond when he was arrested June 17, according to news reports. His commanders learned of the May arrest from news reports, according to Marine Forces Reserve.

According to the statement, Melaku's June 17 arrest in Arlington National Cemetery and his being charged by federal prosecutors with destruction of property and firearm violations "had no bearing on the Marine Corps' initial determination to pursue the administrative separation process."